The Old Town Hall is a historic building in Wine Street in
Devizes
Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...
, a town in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
, in England. The structure, which was completed in 1752 and has seen various commercial uses since it was superseded by a new town hall in 1808, is a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
History
The building was commissioned as a cheese hall for the town. The site selected was on the corner of Wine Street and St John's Street, just to the south of the town's
Market Place
A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...
. Work on the building started in 1750. It was designed by an architect named Lawrence in the
neoclassical style
Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...
, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1752. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with four bays facing onto Wine Street; on the ground floor, which was
rusticated, there were four round-headed openings. These were originally open, but by the mid-19th century had been filled in with windows and doors. On the first floor, there were four sash windows flanked by
Ionic order
The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...
columns, as well as two corner
pier
A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...
s supporting an
entablature
An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
and a pediment with a clock flanked by carved figures of
Cupid
In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...
in the
tympanum.
[
The building was largely used as a market hall, with the ground floor hosting the town's cheese market. Between 1785 and 1787 the room on the first floor served as an ]arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
for the Royal Wiltshire Militia, while at other times it served as the mess hall of the Devizes Loyal Volunteers, and also as a Sunday school
]
A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes.
Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
. While the current Devizes Town Hall was under construction, between 1806 and 1808, the room on the first floor was briefly used as a venue for council meetings.[ It was then let out for commercial use in 1809 and sold in 1825.]
In 1836, the building was acquired by a firm of wine merchants, Messrs Cunnington, which used the basement and the vaults below for storage of wines and spirits. From 1848, the room on the first floor served as the museum, library and reading rooms of the town's literary and scientific institution. The building accommodated the expanded firm of wine merchants, Cunnington, Williams & Sons, until the mid-20th century. The building was Grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
in 1954.[
For much of the second half of the 20th century, the ground floor of the building was occupied by a branch of ]Cheltenham & Gloucester
Cheltenham & Gloucester plc (C&G) was a mortgage and savings provider in the United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. C&G specialised in mortgages and savings products. Previously, C&G was a building society, the Cheltenham and Glou ...
; it was re-branded as a branch of TSB Bank in 2013. After TSB Bank closed its branch in Wine Street in April 2021, the ground floor became the home of a ladies' fashion shop, Hen House, in autumn 2022. Meanwhile, the first floor served as the auction rooms of Henry Aldridge and Son, before becoming the Wine Street Gallery in the mid-1990s: the gallery continued to display the work of local artists until April 2009.
In July 2025, Henry Aldridge and Son, a local firm of auctioneers, purchased the freehold of the old town hall. They plan to base their world-famous Titanic auctions on the ground floor of the property.
See also
* Grade II* listed buildings in Wiltshire (P–Z)
References
{{Reflist
Georgian architecture in Wiltshire
Government buildings completed in 1752
City and town halls in Wiltshire
Devizes
Grade II* listed buildings in Wiltshire